Falling: To Fall In Love
by Sam Worth
Summary: Liz crossed her arms. "Is this some bet between you and Colby?" - Liz finds out who is truthful and who isn't. Liz and David friendship with a sprinkle of Colby and the team. Season 5. Part of the Falling series.


_A/N Thank you very much Tecwyn your reviews! Not beta read._

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**Falling: To Fall ****In Love**

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Liz tightened her grip on her duty weapon while she mentally ran through the layout of the house again.

Backdoor in. Kitchen to the left. Beyond the kitchen, connected by a small door way, was the living room. To the right, she had to watch for the door that lead to the cellar. Straight ahead the staircase.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, pushing away the memory of the first time she had been in such a house.

"Liz?" Don asked. On the outside he was a picture of calm, only his fast moving chin muscles indicated with what kind of force he was chewing on his gum.

The easy end of the case, an arrest of three robbers, had gone horribly wrong, as one of their inexperienced agents had failed to provide adequate backup at the back-door giving one of the robbers the chance to flee. Running into the nearest house, they now had to deal with a possible hostage situation. Without hesitation, Don had decided to go after the robber immediately and not waiting for SWAT or other specialists.

Blinking, she refocused on the surrounding people. Apparently, Don had tried to get her attention several times already.

"How small is the door way from the kitchen to the living room?" Don repeated his question. "And do we need to worry about friendly fire from the front door?"

Liz ran through the plans again. "Really small and yes. If there's even a small flower vase, there won't be any running. And it's too contorted either way to be fast." She brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "And there's just a thin wall with a window. No protection from gun fire whatsoever."

"How comes that it's never me who gets invited on a private tour of some new model houses?" Colby grouched and stared at her with an innocent face that wasn't innocent at all. "I'd also like to know the real layout for the next raids beforehand." Shifting on his feet, Colby checked his gear again.

Liz smirked and deflated the implied question about how she knew the inner layout so well. "Maybe you should make another appointment with your bank? Or check your savings first."

David raised an eyebrow while he finished putting on his vest. He was the last to put the ear piece in his ear, as he had argued Don's decision to go in, not so much with words but with looks. And his look had been good enough to make Don pause before reaffirming his decision. In the end, David would follow Don, like they all did.

Colby took the words about his spending habits with his usual attitude and grinned. Liz wasn't sure, but for the moment she suspected that Colby wasn't planning on buying a house, as if anybody could afford such an undertaking in LA anymore, and settling down. If he could insinuate her love life, his bank account was fair game indefense.

"Any chance that your date is going to be there?" Don asked while he glanced to the house.

"My date?" Liz narrowed her eyes. It was true that Ryan LeMare, the head of Sunshine Real Estate Development, had invited her to a private tour through his model houses. But that hadn't been a date but strictly work related. After a series of home invasions, that had been linked by Charlie to Sunshine it had been necessary to investigate the houses further. If she had accepted another invitation after closing that case to a candle light dinner by an attractive single, well, that would be her business alone. It was just a coincidence that the robbers lived in one of the houses in Sunshine's developing area, giving her inside knowledge of the new houses.

"The Ryan-Guy," Nikki provided the name with a smirk. "It was kind of obvious how he was hitting on you."

Liz frowned. Contemplating whether it would be useful to deny any date in front of a bunch of FBI agents, she needed too long to come up with an answer.

"Well?" Don prompted and the expression on his face made it clear that any attempt to evade the question would be useless. He usually wouldn't have bothered but the whole operation was already on thin ice. Apparently, he didn't want to add a conflict of interests.

"No," she said with a sigh. "He is to on a business trip to San Diego, and he's only coming back tonight. There's no way, he is in one his new houses."

"Oh, a hot date tonight?" Nikki grinned at her. "Do you need me to take point? I wouldn't want you to get hurt." Nikki joked to hide her tension.

Liz laughed. "Dream on, rookie." She readied herself and moved towards the house. "And get behind me." The day she let the rookie take point to have a date would be the day she'd hand in her badge.

"All right." Don nodded. "Let's go."

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw David and Colby following Don. They would go to the front door, while Liz and Nikki were coming in from the back.

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Pretending that her hands weren't shaking, Liz accepted the bottle of water from Colby.

"Good shot," he said.

Without looking up, she nodded. She sat on the bumper of the Suburban, letting the dark surface of the car warming her back.

"The paramedics think he's going to pull through," Colby continued.

After breaching the house, they had found exactly what they had feared, their robber with two hostages, a male and a female. Startled, the robber had raised his gun and started to shot at David and Don. Liz hadn't hesitated, her aim true.

But it hadn't been the loud bang, or the blood, or the startled screams that had shocked her. No, it had been the sight of the former hostages that had done that. The woman with her short blonde hair had buried her face against the shoulder of the man in a clear attempt to seek comfort and hide from the violence. He had provided it with natural ease and a pale face. The gesture spoke of familiarity and the ring on her finger of love. And the man was no other than Ryan LeMare, the head of Sunshine Real Estate Development and her date.

Abruptly, Liz had turned away, leaving Nikki to lead the couple out of the house, away from their suspect while David and Colby provided first aid and secured him. Don's eyes had followed her all the way out.

Since then, she had secured the area, called for an ambulance, turned in her gun and stayed out of the house but on scene like she was supposed to do.

"The house belongs to Sabrina LeMare and her -" Colby's words faltered slightly, " and her husband Ryan LeMare."

Liz balled her fists at the confirmation. Before she could say something, Colby looked up and narrowed his eyes. Following his gaze, she rose.

"Liz," Ryan LeMare started. He stood in front of her with his disheveled Armani suit and his perfectly trimmed beard. "Can we talk?"

Taking a deep breath, Liz straightened. "I hope your wife is okay and recovers fast from your ordeal today," she said in a voice she almost didn't recognize. Usually, she didn't sound like ice.

"It's not like you think. I -"

"Go, be with your wife. You won't see me again," Liz hissed, without moving. She wouldn't be the one to leave.

"Liz, please, I can explain."

"Are you or are you not married?" Liz raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"It's not like that. Sabrina and I, we -" he stuttered.

Disappointed, Liz looked away, back to the house. After all, there had been a few excuses she would have been willing to entertain. None of them were good, but all of them could be expressed in a single straight sentence. We're separated. We just stayed married for the kids. For the money. For the parents. For the dogs. If he couldn't give her that, it was exactly as it seemed.

"Liz, ..."

Colby stepped between Ryan and her, forcing him to take a step back. Finally, Ryan got it and turned away.

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Liz closed the door to the break room softly behind her. A sigh left her mouth. For the first time in hours, she relaxed her stance. Balling her hands into fists, she resisted the temptation to shut the blinds behind her and told herself that a closed door was really enough to finally escape the worried and curious stares of her co-workers.

At first, they had left her alone as far as possible, but then her cell had started to make a noise every time she had received a text from Ryan. It vibrated. They stared at her worryingly. Finally, she had turned off the alarm.

She stalked to the fridge and grabbed the first item she could see. Again, with controlled movements, she softly shut the fridge. She'd rather threw things around and slammed doors, but that would be just childish.

Suddenly, the door behind her opened.

Forcing herself to remain still, Liz bit on the inside of her cheek.

"So," David drawled, "Don's right?" He started to close the blinds.

With a false but bright smile, Liz swirled around. "Seems so." She didn't know with what Don could be right, but she also didn't want to ask.

David chuckled. "Sure." He finished his work. "In case you're wondering - Don said that you didn't know that Ryan LeMare was married."

Despite her best intention she turned away. She had wanted to raise her head, to stroll out of the break room, to play it off as if nothing had happened. But in the end, she looked away, down to the floor. Too much these words hurt.

He sighed. "And?" David went to the nearest table and leaned against it. "What are you going to do?"

Liz rolled her eyes. "Nothing. I told him to get lost and that's the end."

"It didn't sound like it." With his chin, he indicated her cell that lightened up with a new message. Again.

Shutting it down, Liz shrugged. "He still thinks I'm going to show up to his candlelight dinner tonight."

"But you won't," David stated. Then he straightened at her hesitation. "Right?"

"Of course not!" Liz took a deep breath. "I'm going to stay at home and forget about him." She really didn't look forward to her evening on the couch. Alone. But seeing as there never had been anything between Ryan and her, except maybe the spark of a potential - her current troubles really didn't require an intervention from her friends and family.

David watched her with a frown on his face.

For him she put on her best smile. "Don't worry! I'll have a date with ice cream and then I'm going to hit the gym or maybe the shooting-range." And if she never made it off the couch there were still enough movies to watch.

Snorting, David stepped away from the table. "If you're free tonight, you could accompany me."

For a moment, Liz was startled. Then she laughed out loud. "Really? David I like you but I'm done with relationships at the workplace. It didn't work out with Don and -"

"I'm not asking you out for a date," David interrupted and Liz snapped her mouth shut. He didn't seem disappointed or hurt at her reaction. A harsh reaction she was already regretting. That was one of the reason some wounds were better licked alone and in silence.

"No date." She accepted his word. David could be hesitant, but if he had made up his mind, he didn't play games. "Then what? Work?"

"No, Colby brags about this new bar." David shrugged and hid his hands in his pockets. "And if I go alone in a bar, I can't save myself from all the attention of the ladies. I'd need a chaperon."

Now, Liz just laughed. "A chaperon?"

"Yes, you could really help me out here. With you at my side, I may even leave the bar before midnight." He grinned.

Liz crossed her arms. "Is this some bet between you and Colby?"

"No!" David shook his head. "Just checking out a new bar with a co-worker and friend."

She looked down, the refusal on the tip of her tongue. "David -"

"All right," he interrupted her, holding up a hand. "I don't want you to sit alone at home contemplating whether you should go after all. Give him a chance to explain himself. Maybe it isn't like it appears to be." He played with his voice until he sounded like a silly cartoon. "He had never said that he wasn't married. Maybe it's my fault because I should have asked. And so on."

"I'm not fifteen. I -"

"I have seen it with my sister," he said right over her protests. "It doesn't matter what he does, she always returns - no matter what. He opens his mouth and she crumbles. I don't want to see this happening to you." David shifted slightly in place. It was the only indication about his worry. "So, yes, you would do me a favor by being my chaperon."

Liz played with her bottle. There was no way she would go on a date with Ryan anymore, no matter how fast her heart beat whenever she saw his face on her cell, so David's worry was unwarranted but still touching.

"David," she started as suddenly her cell vibrated with a new text. She scowled at the name.

"I'll write down the address," David said and pulled out his notebook and pen. "Meet you there at the bar?" He held out the paper.

Liz pocketed her phone and accepted the paper. "I'll be there."

David's bright smile was enough to seal the deal. Her friendship with David was worth the effort. He hadn't lied, and he showed what caring really meant.

"Hey!" Colby opened the door. "What's going on here? You can't just disappear behind closed blinds without -"

"Shut up," David grouched good naturally. "We were talking and didn't need an audience."

"You meant, you were talking and Liz had to listen." His bright eyes searched her for any kind of distress. Suddenly, Liz understood that the timely interruption was a welfare check for her in case she hadn't wanted to listen to David.

"Don't worry, boys." She straightened up and pocketed David's note before she marched to the door. As she walked by David and Colby she told them brightly, "I'm fine." She'd have a great evening, and Ryan LeMare would wait and text in vain.

Looking around the office, she found missing the one person, she had expected to see. "Where's Don?" she asked Nikki with a frown as she reached their cubicle.

"Getting chewed out by the boss," she answered.

Liz raised an eyebrow. "Bad?"

Nikki shrugged. "He didn't seem overly worried, but then again, nobody died but our suspect should never have had the chance to run." She rolled her eyes. "So, I guess, it's his time to get blamed for things out of his control." She seemed happy that for once it wasn't her mistake or decision that had started this.

"All part of the job," Liz agreed. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Colby and David still arguing good-naturally in the break room.

Sitting back down at her desk, Liz fetched her cell. If she could fall in love, she could also fall out of love. With great satisfaction she deleted Ryan's texts and number. She had better friends.

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**END**

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_A/N Thank you for reading!_


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